Protection and destruction
by Unconcerned
Summary: A battered broken combat robot finds solace in those just trying to survive in a city that has abandoned its own people.
1. Chapter 1

Foreword:

Megaman and all related characters, materials and games are the property of capcom or whichever organization may hold the copyrights at the time of reading this. I do not own any of these characters, properties etc.

This is simply a fanfic being written out of boredom and an exercise in learning how to become a better writer.

I would request that any criticisms be worded constructively with suggestions for improvement, rather than just negative opinions.

Applause or encouragement is appreciated as well as suggestions for improvement or comments on subjects you like/don't like.


	2. Chapter 2

Even before he was fully conscious he could hear the words, the angry muttering and cursing of his creator. "I vill show zem all. Mein robots will lead the world to a new age of fear and order" As his positronic brain drifted in and out of virtual consciousness the words and anger of his creator permeated his progressive personality programming. The bare skeletal frame learning of his creators will and hatred for the world he had yet to even see.

Time passed without meaning, flashing numbers on his internal clock that meant nothing in his state. Piece by piece he was aware of components being mounted and installed into his body and brought online. Each piece painstakingly checked for errors and efficiency. "You vill be ze first of mein robot masters, ze first to help me build a new vorld, free from ze corruption and bigotry that this one is filled with" Throughout his construction he was aware of someone else speaking "Hey Doc, why don't you just let me deal with my little brother and that aging scientist?" Someone in a younger voice asked. "Nein, Dr Light will be too well guarded, megaman is almost a match for you, and on his ground you vould be at a distinct disadvantage. No, ve vill make him come to us, on our terms, and zen ve vill DESTROY HIM!" The creator bellowed. "But what's to stop him just making another megaman?" The young voice asked. "Ze same reason he has not built more robots like him already. He lacks the technology to create sustainable robots that can compete with the ones I can create. He still has not resolved ze power problem zat once plagued you proto. Haven't you even vondered why he always needs zose energy canisters? Now hand me zat velding laser if you vould please"

Piece by piece he felt his form take shape, sensitive gyroscopic sensors, matter converter matrix devices, nano-bot repair pods, titanium composite armor and skin. His first view of the world was brief. Without warning his existence in floating darkness was pierced by a bright light appearing before his new eyes. The world as he could see consisted of a view of the ceiling of the lab he was in, a surgical light array blinding him. "Good, ze basic optical sensors are vorking, now let us test ze combat optics" His vision turned red as a small floating robot shaped like a ball appeared in the air above him. The ball moving erratically from side to side, up and down as it moved. Lines filled his vision, tracking the path of the ball, where it had been, it's probable path. Additional lines filled his vision along with coordinate data, tracking the path of some kind of projectile to intercept the orb. "Good, good, ze tracking systems seem to be working perfectly. Ze armor is almost complete and the nano-bots are creating ze composite skin and hair" A moment later his vision went black as the optic sensors were deactivated. "Hey Doc, what's the point of making realistic skin and hair?" There was a low chuckling sound "All part of my plans proto. You see vhen I have taken over ze city, and eventually ze world. You and mein other robots will be put in key positions of authority throughout ze city. You vill be mein robot overlords of humanity, relaying mein orders to ze people. And people will be more likely to trust somezing that looks human, compared to say, Gutsman. But more zan zat you vill be representatives for and of ze people. Impartial, unbiased, immune to ze corruption of bribery and politics, you and your brethren shall be in charge of cities and countries. Ze problems plaguing ze people of your districts shall be brought forward and addressed, help vill be given without greed or personal motives interfering" Dr Wily said, waving his arms in the air, visions of his perfect world dancing in his mind. "So us robots are to become babysitters for humans? If that's your grand design for us, you're the same as Dr Light, just using us to further your own goals, and I won't be used like that" Proto-man turned to leave. The table shook wildly, the incomplete robots gyroscopes measuring and calculating the degree of shifts as Dr Wily slammed his fists into the lab table. "DUMKOMPF! I am nothing like Dr Light, he creates your kind to be slaves, manual labor, expendable, delete-able. I want you to help me usher in a new age of humanity, a vorld vere everyone lives with what they need to survive and furzer zemselves. A vorld united under vone banner vhere humans and robots coexist to survive" The vein in Wily's forehead throbbed as he finished. "Yeah right Doc, I'm outta here" Proto said with a dismissive wave. "Do you know vhy I saved you proto? Why I did not alter your personality as Dr Light would have?" Proto turned around with a smug grin "Because I'm the only one that can kill my little brother" Wily Shook his head. "Nein, I did it because you are the same as him. You feel an innate desire to help humanity, but you aren't blinded by the lies like your brozzer is. Mein family arrived in this country; zis blessed land of opportunity and found nothing but bigotry and social classes. Mein fazher vorked himself to ze bone to provide, and vhen he got sick, he vas tossed aside, like a broken toy. I studied robotics to create a vorld where machines helped keep humans safe and where none suffered. But even in academia I found I vas unacceptable. A child of foreigners, competing against ze son of an affluent family, my research was tampered with, destroyed, or stolen to make sure Thomas Light would succeed" Wily took a deep breath, running his hands over his head in a vain attempt to smooth back his unruly hair as he composed himself. "I apologize for zat proto; if you still vish to leave I von't stop you, I vill do zis on my own, as I always have. Before you go I have somezing for you" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small shielded circuit case. "What is it?" Proto asked, eyeing the circuit suspiciously. "It's an energy storage capacitor for your plasma cannon, it vill allow you to store additional plasma energy that can be used with a normal shot to create a much stronger shot, but it must be recharged. It's not much but I zought you might need a hand vith your brozzer" Proto eyed the case for a few moments. "Alright I'll stay Wily, but I'm the only one that gets to kill my brother" Wily nodded and resumed his work. Computer keys tapping as he configured data and rechecked the progress of the robot on the table.

He was brought to consciousness by a faint humming sound from somewhere inside. The humming grew in intensity and he could feel the vibrations from inside his chest as his power core was brought online, the massive influx of catalyst energy to start the self sustaining process causing his body to vibrate slightly. "I know you can hear me my creation. I know you've been aware this whole time. You've been asleep a long time, but now it is time for you to avake and to take your place in the world. Now open your eyes and see the world" He opened his eyes, the ceiling of the lab once again filled his vision. With a jolt the table began to move, tilting to bring him to a standing position. His gyro's measuring the angles until he was upright. With a loud metallic clank, the restraining bands on the table released and the robot staggered forwards a few steps, getting used to motion for the first time. In front of him stood seven robots of various design and colorations, in front of them stood an old man with gray hair in a lab coat. "I am ze brilliant scientist Dr Vily; I created you as the first of my combat robots. Behind me are your compatriots, together you vill all help me to create a new vorld, a better vorld" As he spoke he held out a blood red colored helmet. The center of the forehead had a circular saw blade affixed, and two yellow antennae like horns on the sides by the audio sensors. His keen eyes caught writing in the back of the helmet "DWN-009" He read aloud. "Correct, you are ze ninth robot master ever created, and ze first to be created entirely by me" He regarded the helmet for a moment before lifting it to his head and putting it on. He felt movement by his cheeks as the helmets faceguard snapped into place, covering his mouth and nose. With a flick of the wrist a circular saw blade appeared in his fingertips, spinning around it sliced easily through the table, the top half falling to the ground. With another flick the blade disappeared, recalled by the matter converters in his armor. Turning to face Dr Wily and the other robot masters he smiled inside his mask.

"DWN-009, Designation: Metal Man, fully operational. What are your orders Dr Wily?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Infiltration

An unmarked transport pulled up in front of a tall building. A door opened and out stepped ElecMan. Touching a hand to a lamp post he sent a small current, just enough to burn out the street lights in a two block radius. Under cover of darkness the other robots stepped out of the transport. Without a word Elecman moved to an electrical console. A small spark later and the buildings silent alarm was cut off. Walking through the main doors, Gutsman, Bombman, Elecman and Metalman strode to the security desk. The guard looked up at them coffee in hand, his eyes widening in surprise mid-sip. Spitting out the coffee and jumping to his feet the guard reached for the silent alarm button. Gutsman's hand slamming down on the desk stopped him in mid reach "I wouldn't if I were you!" He bellowed. Reaching for his sidearm he found the holster empty. "Looking for this" Quickman gloated, holding up the pistol, taking it apart piece by piece. "You won't need this where you're going" He said, tossing the pieces across the room, the spring and bullets rolling across the floor. "What do you mean, where I'm going?" Gutsman picked the guard up by the collar. "We're going to blow this place sky high, with you in it! That'll teach Dr Light to try to build robot commando's to stop us!" Elecman pressed the tranquilizer gun to the guard's neck, knocking him out instantly. "Alright, we have only 15 minutes until that wears off, let's plant the virus and the bomb and get out of here.

The security door to the mainframe shone brightly in the fluorescent lights. With a flick, Metalman formed a saw blade in his fingers. Sparks flew as he brought the blade to the hinges of the door. A few moments later the hinges and the security bolt had been cleanly sliced through. Grabbing hold of the handle, Gutsman let out a groan of effort. A moment later the door gave out a much louder metallic groan as it was dragged open.

Darting in as soon as the space was wide enough, elecman accessed the mainframe. A few moments later he gave bombman the thumbs up gesture. The door to the mainframe now completely moved aside by Gutsman. Everyone stood aside as a huge bomb was created and laid down in front of the mainframe. "You sure that's not going to go off?" Quickman asked as he idly tapped the bomb with the tip of his foot. "I'm sure, it'll do a countdown and a big puff of smoke, but that's…" He was distracted by the sounds of approaching sirens. "Quickman take care of tha…"Gutsman started to say, but the speedy robot was already gone.

Moving so fast it seemed the world around him was standing still, quickman raced down the street towards the sound of the approaching sirens. Rounding a corner he found three police cars. The three cars saw nothing but a reddish orange blur before all three cars simultaneously found themselves with shredded tires. With a smirk he raced back to the others.

Gutsman and elecman had already piled into the transport by the time Quickman got back. Bombman waved him over "Let's get out of here before OOF!" A blast of white hot plasma energy smashed into his chest, knocking him back. "Before I get here?" Megaman yelled as he flew in atop rush, jumping off to land next to bombman.

Stunned by the impact, bombman got his bearing just in time to see megaman copying his weapon. Forming an explosive in his hand he regarded bombman smugly "I'm sure this is going to be a blast" He raised his arm to throw when a streetlight swinging horizontally sent him flying. Gutsman dropped the streetlight and helped bombman up. The bomb megaman had been holding exploded in the middle of the street, making a ten foot wide hole in the pavement. "We'd better go before he gets up, he doesn't know how to control my weapons, he'll blow us up and half the block" Gutsman nodded and they piled into the transport, waving Quickman and Metalman to get in. A bomb struck next to the transport, shaking it wildly. "GO! we'll find another way" Metalman yelled. The door snapped shut and the transport accelerated away.

"Oh no you don't" Megaman yelled, taking aim. A quick boomerang hit him as he fired, the shot going wild, sending a bomb through the window of a dry cleaners. The windows exploded outwards, glass showering the street as the building started to smoke and burn. "Hey Mega, your aims a bit off" Quickman smirked, as he readied another boomerang. Ducking into the building Metal man gathered two blades and ducked his head out.

Quickman was a blur, speeding up and down the street, dodging the bombs that mega man threw. Cars and windows exploded as the bombs detonated moments behind him. He was fast enough to outrun the explosions, but the shrapnel was slowly wearing him down. His back was riddled with fragments that had pierced his metallic skin. A dangerously close explosion sent a shard deep into his right leg at the knee, locking it up. "What's wrong, not so quick anymore?" Megaman asked as he created a particularly large bomb. Quickman looked at the building behind him hoping to find an abandoned building to duck into, but instead he found an apartment complex. People looking out their windows at the commotion outside, several gasped in horror as they saw the bomb and the proximity to their homes.

With a loud buzzing sound, two saw blades spun through the air, one cutting a path along megaman's back, the other hitting one of rush's jet burners. The bomb fell in the middle of the street, the resulting explosion tearing open half the building. Concrete, glass and bits of people's homes fell into the street. Quickman had been thrown into the side of the building and partially buried under debris.

"Rush no! You'll pay for that" Megaman yelled as he turned to fire a plasma blast at metal man, his energy levels nearing empty.

Metal man jumped over the security desk, the reinforced frame blocking the plasma blasts. A moaning caught his attention. The drugged security guard was recovering from the tranquilizer. "Wha, what's going on?" He asked as the desk was hit by plasma bolt after plasma bolt. "Shut up and keep your head down!" Metal man yelled as he flung three disks in rapid succession, angling them as best as he could measure to megaman's firing location. A blade connecting with the blue robots right shoulder produced a satisfying yell of pain. His smirk was cut short as a bomb was tossed barely over the desk to land between metal man and the guard. Jumping to his feet he dived over the desk, landing on his feet. "Grab my hand!" He yelled at the guard. The guard was on his feet reaching, his hand grabbing hold for dear life. Just as Metalman started to pull him over the desk, he could see the guards face a drawn mask of fear and panic. There was a bright flash and the guard disappeared into a cloud of red mist. One moment he was there and the next he was just gone. Part of the guards hand was still in Metal man's grasp as the shrapnel tore through his right arm.

Megaman watched as the room metal man had been in collapsed, the roof falling on the robot. "Time to finish this" The sound of an engine drew his attention, turning he came face to face with the transport speeding past him. Gutsman leaned out of the open door, his fist aimed straight at megaman. The impact sent the fighting robot skidding across the ground, sparks flying as he came to a rest slamming into the side of a building hard enough to crack the concrete.

Gutsman and Bombman piled out, grabbing hold of Quickman. The robot yelled out in pain as Gutsman lifted him roughly, his right leg tearing loose from its mountings. Gathering the errant leg, bombman followed close behind as they deposited him in the transport. "Where's metal man?" Gutsman demanded of the pained robot. "He was in the building, it collapsed…I don't know what happened after that" He managed to get out through clenched teeth. Black robotics oil bubbled from his mouth and chest armor. "I'm going for metal man" Gutsman yelled as he stepped to the door. "We don't have time, Light's robopolice will be here soon, we have to leave while we have a chance" elecman yelled from the controls. Gutsman scowled and nodded "Alright, but were coming back to search for him as soon as it's clear" He yelled back angrily as he pulled the door shut, the sounds of approaching sirens dangerously close.


	4. Chapter 4

Drifting in positronic unconsciousness memories flashed across his mind.

He remembered a man, the security guard disappearing in a flash of flame and entrails. In the moments afterwards his world consisted solely of pain and a maelstrom of fire and debris. The pain in his right arm brought him to consciousness as the failsafe systems in his brain reconnected, burning pain racing through him before the sensors were deactivated. His vision obscured by chocking black smoke and the world lurched sickeningly. When the movement had settled he found himself in a new room. The explosion had knocked the floor out from beneath him. Through the hole in the ceiling he could hear the transport speeding away and the sirens approaching, the buildings fire alarm rang its shrill sound. His vision swam wildly as he looked around, his vision blurred and full of static in one eye. Through the hole he could see the dent the explosion had made in the ceiling along with splashes of red in almost every direction. The sirens were right above him now drifting down through the smoke and falling pieces of the building. Pulling himself from the rubble he spied a door in the corner of the room. . Pushing the door open he found a stairway and an emergency exit, staggering outside.

Running through the back alley's he searched for an escape route. With a loud crack the heavy sky opened up and started raining. Ducking behind a dumpster in the shadow of a building he took a moment to get his bearings. His chest was pierced in several areas. Pieces of bomb fragments, desk and some sort of white shrapnel were embedded in his chest armor. His right eye was badly damaged, but he couldn't tell how much. Checking his right arm he found what remained of the guards hand still in his grip, the fingers clasped in a death grip to his, the radius and ulna jutting out a few inches past the shredded remains of flesh. In that moment he recognized the white fragments in his armor as bits of bone, driven into his armor by the force of the explosion.

His fingers wouldn't release their grip, the circuitry in his arm too badly damaged to move. Using his left hand metalman pried his fingers from the remains of flesh. He regarded the hand for a moment, partaking of a brief moment of silence before depositing the hand in the dumpster. The sirens were getting closer.

Trudging through the storm drains he looked for an exit. The need to escape the immediate area had driven him underground. While he had a rough knowledge of the layout of the city, he wasn't programmed with knowledge of the sewer system. His Between the damage to his arms and legs and the need to lift a manhole cover once he'd reached the top of the service ladders, he'd found himself trapped in the sewer, unable to climb up and into the city.

His internal clock read just after two a.m. when he emerged into the night air. The rain had persisted all night and still poured down with no hint of stopping, a fact he was appreciative of. The heavy rain would cover his tracks.

Looking around he found himself in an industrial area, abandoned rusting metal husks of closed down factories and plants. A slowly flashing neon sign drew his attention "Cohen Scrap: Salvage and repairs" he read aloud. Circling around the scrap yard he found a hole in the chain corrugated steel fence, abandoned cars long since abandoned and stripped for parts lay rusting in the street. Once inside he moved as quietly as he could, being careful to avoid any loose piles of scrap that could fall. Near the center of the yard he found what passed for a house. The structure seemed to have been pieced together by bits of scrap and other structures. Upon closer inspection he found it to be a prefabricated structure that had been built upon over time.

Checking to make sure he couldn't hear any movement from the house he checked the windows of a second structure attached to the house. As he'd hoped the structure turned out to be a garage of sorts. Using a small blade he made a small slice around the doorknob and pressed the door open, making sure to catch the doorknob so it wouldn't hit the floor.

His left eye shone red in the dark, his optical imaging showing the room as though it were midday. The garage was filled with chains and pulleys, mechanical lifts of all sorts. Equipment for cutting, welding, and just about any other sort of mechanical repair, he also spied some equipment for precise robotic repairs. Moving up to a mirror on the far wall he took off his helmet to survey the damage done to his eye. The frame around his eye had been torn badly, the wiring exposed and damaged, the eye itself had been shaken loose from its housing. His right arm was almost completely non-operational, most of the forearm armor had been destroyed and the weapons systems contained within had taken serious damage. The damage was severe, but repairable. Hiding his helmet in a stack of tires he opened one of the toolboxes, grabbing a screwdriver and a pair of needle-nose pliers he started unscrewing the locking ring just below his right wrist.

Small sparks flew as he used a small welding laser to reconnect the sensitive wiring. Holding up his hand he tested it. The thumb and first two fingers moved normally, but the second two still wouldn't move and the wrist kept locking up when he moved. The click of a light switch sounded devastatingly loud in the near silence he'd been working in and the world became a blinding white light as his night vision was washed out. Diving behind a heavy piece of equipment he blinked his night-vision off and readied a blade. "I already paid Griggs his protection money this month. If you think you're going to shake some more money out of this old con you're in for a rude awakening" The sound of a shotgun being pumped accompanied by a mechanical whine, accentuated the point. Taking the situation into consideration, metal man flicked the blade back into his arm. Raising his hands he stood up. He came face to face with a weathered face covered in a long black and grey peppered beard. The gunman was wearing a flannel work shirt and blue jeans, a metal leg brace on his left leg kept his leg at an unnatural angle. The plasma shotgun in his hands however quickly erased any thoughts of outrunning him.

Roy Cohen was awakened from his sleep by the sounds of someone in the garage welding. He was about to yell at his daughter to knock it off when he realized it was far too early for her to be up. Slipping from his bed he got dressed and grabbed the plasma shotgun he kept under the bed. The weapon had been customized to double the output; the recoil had nearly knocked his shoulder out of socket before he adjusted the dampeners. Creeping down the hall, taking great pains to keep his bad leg from making any noises he slowly opened the garage door. He could see small sparks as someone in the corner of the garage was working. The sparks gave glimpses of a scarred face and bright red hair. The moment he flicked the light switch the figure looked up at him, a single eye glowing bright red for a moment before diving behind a piece of machinery. "Another of Griggs's robots, come to bleed me dry" He thought to himself. "I already paid Griggs his protection money this month. If you think you're going to shake some more money out of this old con you're in for a rude awakening" He yelled as he pumped the shotgun. The figure slowly rose from behind the equipment. Roy didn't recognize him as any of Griggs's bots that he was familiar with. The robot was about 6 feet tall with gray and blood red armor pitted with cracks and holes. The upper leg, midsection and neck were painted black, while the upper arms were painted orange. A large orange gem in his chest was surrounded by a blue circle that traced up to circle his neck. Heavy bolts had been used on the outside of his feet near the ankles, as well as three on the knee protection plate and on the shoulders, there were also four extra large heavy bolts on his back and two things that looked like circular saw blades between his shoulders and his chest. The part that drew his attention most was the face. The robot had been designed with blood red hair that matched his armor, but his face had taken some serious damage, the right side of his face had been torn off from the eyebrow to just above the upper jaw. The eye was badly damaged, he could hear the servos adjusting trying to focus on him, the occasional electric spark was a hint as well.

"Get your hands up right now!" Roy Cohen yelled, bringing the shotgun to bear right at the robots chest. Metalman scowled raising his left hand. When he tried to raise his right arm a shower of sparks drew a growl of pain.

Roy lowered his shotgun slightly at the display of physical pain. "What the hell are you? And what are you doing in my garage?" Metalman scowled "Just trying to get out of the rain and make some repairs" The old man was quiet, a look of intense thought on his face. His finger tightened on the trigger pulling it back ever so slightly. The only sound between the two was an old clock ticking on the wall. Metalman readied himself to run. He could duck down behind the machine for the first shot, power rerouted to the servo in his right shoulder, ready to bring the arm up to shield himself. His mind calculated the damage of the gun and in his current condition he'd have to sacrifice the arm to shield his power core.

The charging sequence whined louder as the trigger was pulled a hair closer to firing. "Well since I'm already up I might as well get some work done, grab that blue toolbox on your way in" He said as he turned to head into the house, leaving the red robot blinking his good eye in surprise.

Metalman grabbed the toolbox, every bit of his logic matrix telling him to be on guard, ready to drop the toolbox and defend himself at a moment's notice. He followed the old man into the house. Inside he found a domicile filled with machine components in various states of repair, robotics and electronics books and magazines filled the bookshelves of the narrow halls. "Put it there" He motioned to a round kitchen table made out of inch thick steel. As he set down the toolbox his host reached into a dishwasher, grabbing two glasses, a puzzled look crossed his face "What the hell is that doing here….TESSA!!!" A moment later there was a scampering sound from the floor above. "What is it pops?" A small girl asked as she came down the stairs. Metalman guessed her age to be around 12-13 years old, with purple hair drawn cut short, and a raggedy old housecoat that was obviously meant for someone bigger. "How many times do I have to tell you, you don't clean power converters in the dishwasher?! We've got an ultrasonic basin in the shop for that" The girl pouted, flashing a big bright purple eye and green eye. "But pops every time I use that I have to go back and re-tighten the screws and recalculate the conversion resonance" She said trying to fake an innocent smile. "Who's that?" She asked, eying their guest. "Oh that's…" He looked around for a second, spotting an angle grinder lying on the counter. "That's Grind, he's here for some repairs" Metalman eyed him suspiciously. Pops merely gave a small nod to him and then another nod towards Tessa. "That's right, your dad is helping me out, there was a…..accident…and I got a little scuffed up" He paused on the word accident, the memory of the guards face floating into his mind. She walked up to him, looking at the exposed wires of the arm he'd been working on. "Looks like you've got something stuck in the wrist hinge that's cutting into a couple of the wires to your wrist" Reaching into the tool box she grabbed a short wire and a pair of powerful magnifying goggles, the name "Pops" could be seen written along the side in permanent marker. The goggles were ill fitting and kept sliding down her head as she focused on the repairs. "Wow, you're made of some pretty complex stuff, but it looks like you've got lots of fairly standard wiring. I can probably fix most of the frame and the less complex circuits, but some of these parts I've never seen before" She fumbled in the toolbox for a second, grabbing a soldering iron. He pulled his arm away, drawing an irritated look from the girl. "Hold still!" she growled at him, the goggles sliding back down to her eyes with a sharp nod of her head. He pulled his hand away again, eliciting another irritated growl from the girl. The sound of something sizzling drew his attention as Pops cracked some eggs into a frying pan. He'd been so distracted by the girls repair work that he hadn't noticed the old man starting on making breakfast. He nearly jumped from the table when with a heavy grunt the girl lifted the tool box up, depositing it on his fingers "Now hold still!" He tried to move his arm but found the toolbox enough to keep his fingers pinned down.

"Try it now" Tessa said as she lifted the goggles up. Using his good hand he moved the toolbox away. His fingers on his right hand moved correctly, albeit not as fluidly as they normally did. "We might have to replace the motors, looks like you've got some minor damage to the joints that needs to be buffed out" She commented "That should wear down to normal with a bit of use of the fingers" He replied, not wanting to reveal that the nanobots could take care of such minor repairs.

A plate of bacon and eggs was laid on the table next to the girl, but she hardly noticed, engrossed as she was in the repairs. Metalman was at least glad that he'd already removed the shrapnel fragments from his chest. The thought of explaining bloodied bits of bone sticking out of his armor wasn't a prospect he particularly relished. Tessa let out a short gasp as she opened the panel containing his forearm matter converters. "Oh wow! Is this a matter converter? I've only read about these in mechanical magazines" A curious looked crossed her face "The only ones of these I've heard of being released were for minor matter conversion for things like dentistry and such. Are you a dentist?" He blinked at her before shaking his head. "This is so cool. I'd heard incomplete schematics of the mark V converters that Dr Light uses were leaked a couple years ago. I only saw a bit of them but they seemed really close to this. Are you one of Dr Light's robots?" She asked slightly accusingly, her gaze narrowing on him. Pops stopped what he was doing, interested in the conversation now. "No, I'm not. I was created using similar data by a….independent agent" The smile returned to her face. "So are you like a prototype or something?" An image of protoman's helmeted face drifted to his mind, along with an image of cutman. "You could say I'm a second generation series" She started to ask something else when the clock caught her attention. "Shit I'm going to be late for school if I don't hurry!" she yelled, running up the stairs. "Tessa what did I tell you about that!" Pops yelled as he sat his plate on the table. "Not to leave my tools at the table, I'll get them in a second" was the response from upstairs. "Not that, the other thing I told you about" He yelled back. Metalman turned his head back and forth to follow the volley of yelling. "Oh yeah" came her response. A moment later she ran down the stairs, the goggles still on her head, housecoat flapping as she ran. Grabbing her untouched plate of food she quoted back to her father one of his lectures "You said breakfast is important and we're not so poor that I have to go hungry so I'd damn well better eat my breakfast" She quoted from memory as she scurried back up the stairs, plate in hand. "I mean about swearing in the house" A moment later she ran down the stairs, empty plate in hand. "I didn't swear" she replied innocently "Yes you did, you said shit" he replied, grabbing his cane. She grabbed her backpack and the glass of orange juice, downing it in one gulp. "Shit isn't a swear word, it's something every living thing does" she answered matter-of-factly. He held open the door for her "It is a swear word when used in that context" He argued back as he walked her to the gate.

Metalman who'd remained silent during the exchange quickly grabbed a screwdriver and pliers. Using his left hand he tried to remove as many of the metal shards from his right arm as he could before securing the panel. Silently he made his way to the garage, intent on retrieving his helmet and making his escape.

As he reached for the stack of tires a coughing sound caused him to spin around. Roy was standing in the doorway, plasma shotgun leveled at him. "You and I need to have a talk"


End file.
